


willow

by daydreamsago



Series: time warp [2]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1970s, Fluff, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Long-Distance Relationship, Love, M/M, Poetic, Summer Romance, it’s cute i promise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-05 11:15:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15862512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daydreamsago/pseuds/daydreamsago
Summary: December 1976.





	1. Chapter 1

A willowy boy, he was.

Phil thought him beautiful, even if boys weren't intended to be. The freckles that artfully stained the tanned skin on his cheeks indicated just how much time he spent in the sun that summer, or _they_ did, rather. Every moment was spent in each other’s company: dancing, singing, laughing, loving. Phil never wanted it to end.

But all summers do end, and going back to college in the fall hurt more than he anticipated it would. He found himself caring less and less about his degree, and more about the boy he left back home—his willow, who danced in the sunnier parts of his mind.

He recalled mornings together, every gentle caress shared. Phil missed the smell of his hair; it smelled of strawberry ice cream, somehow. His heart ached when he thought of those slow summer mornings, underneath a ceiling fan, tangled in pristine sheets. Breakfast was usually homemade, as an excuse to spend more time in each other’s space. (So, _so_ many pancakes.)

Summer nights with him were magical. They walked around the quiet parts of town, enjoying the sweet peacefulness of midnight. The streetlights witnessed their first kiss, the beginning of it all. Phil thought back to the block parties, the hot nights sitting on bright ferris wheels, overlooking local landscapes. He supposed there was something romantic about pretty views.

Thinking about his willow caused him to yearn, to wish and hope to return to his side.

They couldn’t kiss over letters, but Phil sealed each one with a press of his lips; it was nothing like the real thing, though he could pretend. He sent him colorful polaroid pictures and cheesy poems he wrote in class, so terrible at paying attention to the professor’s lectures. He had better things to contemplate.

Long phone calls helped—hearing that lovely voice again melted his troubles away in mere seconds. “ _I miss and love you_ ,” he’d end each call by saying, causing fireworks in Phil’s chest. _Love_. That word echoed in his brain, bounced around until he fell asleep alone each night.

And during a particularly lonely December night in his empty dorm room, he broke down in tears, with his willow on the other end of the phone line.

”Missing you is killing me.”

_”I love you so much, Phil... I’m not going anywhere.”_

“Please stay, Dan.”

_“I always will, promise.”_

”Can I... tell you something?”

_“What is it?”_

”You’re my willow.”

_“What do mean, dear?”_

”You’re just... carefree. Sunny. It sounds awfully lovesick of me to say, but you resemble a willow tree, in a way.”

_”Phil?”_

”Yeah?”

_”That’s very sweet of you to say, thank you.”_

”I love you.”

_”I love you, too. I really do.”_

-

That weekend, Phil took the first train home. He wanted, no, _needed_ to see Dan. The physical space between them was beginning to break him, slicing him deep—to the bone. He never knew homesickness until he left that sad August night. Home, to him, was wherever he could be next to his willow.

When he saw that beautiful face before him, he felt every broken piece within himself mend. Arms were everywhere, soft yet tangled, like the swaying branches of a willow tree. Everything was okay again; that homesick feeling faded immediately.

Phil noticed that Dan’s tan skin had gone pale, the freckles he once kissed had faded away. Summer had passed, just as a cool breeze comes and goes, leaving evidence, then taking it back once more. He knew this, and yet he still felt a pang of nostalgia for the months prior.

When they pulled away from their tight embrace, Dan smiled: still just as sunny as before. “I have the kettle on, and a new Carpenters record on my turntable. Let’s go inside.”

Phil returned that smile, and followed behind his love. He felt at peace knowing he could still recognize the beautiful boy in front of him, the boy he fell in love with in the summertime.


	2. Chapter 2

December 21, 1976

_To my willow,_

_I can’t seem to stop writing about you. The words are coming to me so fast, I can hardly pen them down in time. Oh, just look what you’ve done to me. You’re everything to me._

_It’s nearly Christmas. It’s hard to believe we fell in love over six months ago. I was a different person then, and so were you. We have grown together over these months; blooming like summer wildflowers. I think you’ll always remind me of the summertime. I’m sorry for mentioning it so much. You’re just really beautiful to me._

_Sometimes I dream of you. Well, if I’m being honest, it’s more than sometimes. It’s a lot. I guess my mind is always fixated on you, even when it’s supposed to be resting. Do you dream of me too, Dan?_

_I’m overjoyed when I think about how lucky I am to have you. When you match your hand to mine, I remember my life before I met you: stagnant. Dormant, like a tree over a long, cold winter. You remind me that I am not the person I was. I have grown out of the skin I was in. I am all new._

_Things are better now, in the present. I find it easier to feel happy; I have you. There are days when missing you hurts more than it should, but then I just put on your favorite Rolling Stones record, and allow the music to take me back to you. I love you._

_I’ll be in your arms in a few day’s time. I’m antipating it, so very much. I got you a Christmas present: it’s sitting on my desk as I write you this letter. I hope you like it. I’m sure you will._

_You know, I’d travel through any weather to get to you. I don’t care if the train is delayed, I’d trudge through the snow and ice to be by your side again. You’re everything to me, after all. I wouldn’t let anything keep me away from you. I know I’ve already told you I loved you in this letter, but I feel I need to say it again, so I will._

_I love you, Dan. My willow._

_I’m looking forward to another summer with you. We’ll bask in the hot sun together; your freckles will return. They’re so cute, like the rest of you. I’m completely lovesick for you. But you already knew that._

_I’ll end this here. I could easily write more about you, but I’ll save some words for when I see you face to face. I can’t wait to kiss you again, to feel your body against mine. Merry Christmas, my love._

_With all the love in the world,_

_Phil_


End file.
